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What is the theme of 1984 by george orwell
Imagery in 1984 by george orwell
What is the theme of 1984 by george orwell
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Winston Smith: Character Analysis Winston Smith from George Orwell’s 1984 is a creative thinker who starts off behaving like a common man, but in the end, he ends up rebelling against the ruling Party. Throughout the book, Winston revealed that he is an intelligent individual with interest in literature, he loses his fear in the Party over time, and is unable to control his emotions. The first thing that Winston Smith revealed about his character is that his is very fond of literature. He works as a records editor where he modifies historical documents so they reflect the values of the Party. This occupation at the Ministry of Truth requires a lot of reading and writing through a device called the speakwrite. Also, Winston is trying to get the full poem out of Mr. Charrington’s memory. The text shows this because it states, “He would drag the rest of that poem out of Mr. Charrington’s memory.”(100). This shows that Winston has an interest in literature and his curiosity wants to know the full poem. …show more content…
Another thing that Winston Smith has revealed about his character is that he hates the Party and loses his fear for it after some time.
In the beginning of the book, Winston has some fear of the party. Throughout the book, he commits numerous crimes ranging from committing thought crime, purchasing a diary and writing in it away from the view of the telescreen, sneaking away to meet Julia, reading Goldstein’s book, and even going to O’Brien’s house. All of these are against the law which shows Winston’s lack of fear for the Party. One way Winston shows that he has very little fear for the Party is when he gets a day off from work just to go see his love, Julia, which is shown in the quote: “Finally both of them managed to secure a free afternoon on the same
day.”(138). The final thing that Winston Smith revealed about his character is that he is unable to control his emotions. Throughout the text, Winston couldn’t control his emotions, whether that is dreaming about busting Julia’s head or falling in love with her and sleeping with her. This is shown in the text by the quote, “he had contemplated smashing her skull in with a cobblestone.”(109). This quote shows that Winston had negative emotions about Julia in the beginning which he couldn’t control since he wanted to smash her head. But, later in the book he falls in love with her. In conclusion, Winston has portrayed himself as though he is a bright person who likes to read and write, he is rebellious and hates the Party, and that he cannot control his feelings.
Returning to his diary, Winston then expresses his emotions against the Party, the Thought Police and Big Brother himself; he questions the unnecessary acts by the Party and continuously asserts rebellion. Winston soon realized he had committed the crime of having an individual thought, “thoughtcrime.” The chapter ends with a knock on Winston’s door. Significant Quotes “From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party: WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (Orwell 7). “But there was a fraction of a second when their eyes met, and for as long as it took to happen Winston knew— yes, he knew!
In “1984,” Orwell uses Winston to portray a single individual’s attempt to take action against a powerful government, culminating in his failure and subjugation. His individual efforts failed tremendously due to the overarching power of the Party to control every aspect of social life in Oceania. Orwell uses Winston’s deeply seated hatred of the Party to portray his views on power and social change. Winston’s actions show that even in the direst of situations ...
Winston Smith is the book’s main protagonist. He 's 39 years old, and works as a records editor in the Ministry of Truth. Winston is very intelligent and thoughtful, but also rebellious and fatalistic. He fights against the Party while being aware that there is only one end result for doing
Winston Smith is a thirty-nine year old man who participates in a group of the “outer-party,” which is the lower part of the two classes. Smith works in one of the four main government buildings. This building is called the Ministry of Truth; his job is to rewrite history books so those that read them will not learn what the past used to be like. The occupation Winston is the major factor that allows him to realize that Big Brother is limiting people’s freedom. He keeps these thoughts to himself as secrets because the totalitarian party will not allow those of rebellious thoughts around. The tensions between the two grow throughout the book because the Big Brother becomes very suspicious of Winston. The Big Brother becomes so suspicious of Winston that he sends a person by the name O’Brien, to watch over him. Mr. O’Brien is a member of the “inner party,” which in this book is the upper-class. Winston doesn't know of the trap that Big Brother had set tells O’Brien of his own idea and plans. He tells Winston of a rebellious leader that has been rounding up those that want to go against the totalitarian government. But like the Big Brother had done, he set a trap and O’Brien betrayed Winston. During the story the conflict between Big Brother and Winston climaxes when Winston is caught. He is taken to some sort of bright underground prison type
Winston works for 1 of the 4 government agency’s, The Ministry of Truth. In his job he re-writes old news articles so they show that The Party has always been and will be in control. By re-writing everything in print, The Party effectively changes history. The only proof of actual history is in the minds of the people who were there. Winston realizes that there is something wrong with this, yet he doesn’t know what. The re-writing of history is all he has ever known. It is most likely Winston’s job that leads him to rebel against The Party.
George Orwell creates a dark, depressing and pessimistic world where the government has full control over the masses in the novel 1984. The protagonist, Winston, is low-level Party member who has grown to resent the society that he lives in. Orwell portrays him as a individual that begins to lose his sanity due to the constrictions of society. There are only two possible outcomes, either he becomes more effectively assimilated or he brings about the change he desires. Winston starts a journey towards his own self-destruction. His first defiant act is the diary where he writes “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER.” But he goes further by having an affair with Julia, another party member, renting a room over Mr. Carrington’s antique shop where Winston conducts this affair with Julia, and by following O’Brien who claims to have connections with the Brotherhood, the anti-Party movement led my Emmanuel Goldstein. Winston and Julia are both eventually arrested by the Thought Police when Mr. Carrington turns out to be a undercover officer. They both eventually betray each other when O’Brien conducts torture upon them at the Ministry of Love. Orwell conveys the limitations of the individual when it comes to doing something monumental like overthrowing the established hierarchy which is seen through the futility of Winston Smith’s actions that end with his failure instead of the end of Big Brother. Winston’s goal of liberating himself turns out to be hopeless when the people he trusted end up betraying him and how he was arbitrarily manipulated. It can be perceived that Winston was in fact concerned more about his own sanity and physical well-being because he gives into Big Brother after he is tortured and becomes content to live in the society he hated so much. Winston witnesses the weakness within the prole community because of their inability to understand the Party’s workings but he himself embodies weakness by sabotaging himself by associating with all the wrong people and by simply falling into the arms of Big Brother. Orwell created a world where there is no use but to assimilate from Winston’s perspective making his struggle utterly hopeless.
Orwell used individualism as an antidote for totalitarianism. He portrayed a society where the power of the governing `Party' only gives "the individual [...] power in so far as he ceases to be an individual." The Party views individualism as a disease, as a malfunction in the individual's mind to control their memory and thought impulses - a failure "in humility, in self-discipline." 1984 is told from the perspective of Winston Smith, a Party member who works in the Ministry of Truth; he is neither a particularly heroic character, nor is he blessed with any extraordinary traits, so why would Orwell choose such an average man to be his protagonist? Winston possesses a personality, he has preferences, he esteems history and recognises its malleability in the hands of the Party (which is the ...
The main character Winston Smith was a very curious and rebelliousness individual. He wondered how and why the gove...
Winston is confronted with struggle throughout the entirety of George Orwell`s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Living within a totalitarian regime subsequently causes Winston to seek approaches for dealing with such abundant oppression; he finds liberation through self-awareness, understanding and ultimately rebellion. First, Winston realizes that “if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself”, alluding to the notion of thoughtcrime (162). This recognition exemplifies the complete cognizance that Winston has regarding the oppressive society displayed throughout the novel. Next, Syme states “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words”, alluding to the idea of Newspeak (28). This statement directly correlates to Winston speaking with other party members to gain knowledge about how others feels about policies deployed by the government. This information-seeking also connects with Winston`s rebellion, as he actively searched for others to join his uprising, which is shown when Winston tells O’Brien “We want to join [The Brotherhood]” (171). Winston’s attempt to join a rebellious organization exhibits his evident desire to release his suppressed emotions. Winston devises a very methodical approach to deal with the problematic society he resides in.
The conflict between Winston and Big Brother starts from the beginning of the novel when Winston begins to keep his secret diary about Big Brother. Winston Smith is a third-nine years old man who is a member of the 'outer-party'--the lower of the two classes. Winston works for the government in one of the four main government buildings called the ministry of Truth where his job is to rewrite history books in order for people not to learn what the past used to be like. Winston's occupation is the major factor which lets him to realize that Big Brother is restricting people's freedom. However, Winston keeps his complains about Big Brother and the party for his own secret because the party will not allow anyone keeping a rebellious thought. The tension between them gets serious when Big Brother becomes suspicious of Winston. Winston is therefore watched by O'Brien, an intelligent execute at the 'Ministry of Truth', who is a member of the 'inner party'--the upper class. Without doubting Big Brother's trap, Winston shares his ideas with O'Brien. O'Brien mentions a gentleman named Emmanuel Goldstein whom he claims to know the leader of the rebels against the party. O'Brien also promises to help winston, and promises him a copy of Goldstein's book. But O'Brien betrays him as Big Brother has planned.
Orwell's sets the mood of the book as one of hopelessness for the future of humans. He contrasts this mood with a popular philosophy: belief in the progress of humanity and the ability of people to institute peace and justice in the world. These contrasting views set up the premise for the life of Winston Smith, who is one man caught in a society devoted to conformity. Orwell's warning to this is that if people cannot change the way things are going, our society will lose their human qualities. They will become soulless machines and not have a clue as to their new world they created. This is the world in which Winston Smith is caught in. He is different from the others and in a civilization which does not approve of individuality, Winston is targeted by the government from the beginning. Being different in this populace only means rebellion and that exactly is what Winston sets out to do. Winston believes that although he must conform on the outside, that no one can take his individual thought away. Winston's individuality is the only hope for human nature for he questions the most basic principles of the regime, a thoughcrime. One doctrine Winston questions is the concept of freedom-
I strongly agree with Fromm’s viewpoints and interpretations of Orwell’s 1984 text. He warns that the future federal powers will dehumanize society and leave everyone alienated. Thus, I agree with Fromm to the extent that he acknowledges the fact that humanity can indeed cease to exist as a result of our own self-destruction as well as the effect of our actions. Many of his opinions and warnings expressed by Orwell to an extent appear in contemporary society.
He displays courage, values honor, battles demons (The Party), is a man of action, invites problems, encounters a woman who tempts him, and makes a decent into darkness. Winston Smith is a hero by Orwell’s definition: he is also a hero by epic hero standards. While he did not attain his goal of change, he did in fact live his life with uncommon courage and valor and those attributes are admirable in any person, and in 1984 they are most admirable in Winston Smith. The life of Winston Smith, in Oceana, takes the reader on an odyssey of emotion, has the reader rooting for Winston and Julie and in the end provides a way to understand that it was predestined to end
At the end of the novel, Orwell describes Winston as a cured patient who has over come his metal disease. “He had won the victory over himself: he loved Big Brother” (Part 3, Chapter 6). Both Freud and Orwell break down the components of a person’s mind in the same way. Orwell’s character, Winston, depicts the different parts of the human mind so described by Freud. In Orwell’s 1984, he uncovers the same components of a human mind as seen by Freud, the instinctual drive of the id, the perceptions and actions of the ego, and the censorship imposed by the morality of the superego.
"Just now I held up the fingers of my hand to you. You saw five fingers. Do